Several hundred firefighters and elected officials massed on the steps of City Hall this morning to blast Mayor Bill de Blasio for opposing their call to increase disability benefits for new recruits.

Stephen Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, aimed his fire squarely at Mr. de Blasio—even though changes to the pension benefits system will ultimately need to occur in Albany.

“Listen, the mayor of the City of New York can walk arm-in-arm with me up to Albany and fix this in a heartbeat,” Mr. Cassidy told the Observer. “So that’s why we’re talking about the mayor and the speaker. The reality is, that’s the power. They know it, everybody knows it.”

Mr. Cassidy said that new firefighters, many of whom are nonwhite after a federal judge forced the FDNY to diversify their ranks, were “sold a bill of goods.”

“It’s a bait and switch and needs to get fixed. Not because they were lied to—it needs to get fixed because it’s the right thing to do,” he added, ripping Mr. de Blasio for backing a $13 minimum wage while allegedly turning his back on cops and firefighters.

In 2009, David Paterson, the governor at the time, vetoed a pension sweetener for city cops and firefighters that had been typically carved into the state budget. Mr. Paterson, a Democrat, was trying to control costs at the height of a national recession.

The result of the veto, which stands to this day, is that police officers and firefighters hired after July 2009 only receive 50 percent of their salaries as disability pension pay. Those hired earlier get 75 percent of their wages in disability pensions. Mr. Cassidy said a newly hired firefighter who is seriously injured in the line of duty would receive a paltry $27 a day.

Mr. de Blasio—typically a staunch supporter of unions who has in the past enjoyed a fairly chummy relationship with the UFA after he protested firehouse closures as a councilman—has opposed reversing Mr. Paterson’s veto, citing the potentially high costs of a bill sponsored in the State Senate and Assembly that would restore parity to the pension system.

“The administration takes police officer and firefighter safety very seriously,” de Blasio spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said. “While there are issues with this specific legislation, Mayor de Blasio’s door is always open, and he is committed to working together with police and firefighters to protect these brave public servants who protect us every day.”

The City Council needs to pass a resolution to ask the state to boost disability and pension benefits—and though it has plenty of sponsors, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has not been overly supportive. Her office said she’d continue to review the proposal.

“Whether it’s funding for new bullet-resistant vests, fighting to keep firehouses open or providing resources for new advanced training facilities, the Council values and supports our cops and firefighters and we continue to review the disability proposals,” a spokesman for the speaker, Eric Koch, said.

A handful of council members turned out to back Mr. Cassidy. They were joined by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a retired police captain and Public Advocate Letitia James. Missing was Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch, a notorious antagonist of the mayor.

“I want equality. I want parity,” Ms. James, a Democrat and ally of the mayor, declared. “It is unconscionable. It is unacceptable that our government would not put on their desk immediately a pension bill that would give them parity now and forever.”

“The difference between an elected official and a politician is when you have vision and when you can lead individuals forward,” she continued. “This is the time for elected officials to show what they are made of—show your muster, provide some leadership.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo said he was “reviewing” the disability legislation, sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr. and Republican State Senator Martin Golden. Mr. Cuomo, a fiscal moderate, typically opposes pension sweeteners, but Mr. Cassidy was confident he would have more friends in Albany than City Hall.

“Listen, the governor and those in Albany already know, and I believe are already in our corner, to fix this. I think some of the people behind us in City Hall aren’t so sure,” he said.

So...if $27/day is 50% of their pay, then that means they make about $20,000/year. The union official appears to be lying. Plus, if injured in the line of duty, the first benefit would be workers' compensation, not the pension. WC benefits in NY are $855/week or $122/day.

YOU NEW YORKERS VOTED IN THE WORST MAYOR I'VE EVER SEEN FOR NEW YORK. SO LEFTY LIBERAL AND SOCIALIST IT'S DANGEROUS. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR SO STOP WHINING! NEXT TIME "THINK" BEFORE YOU VOTE. SOMETIMES A LITTLE RED MIXED IN WITH THE BLUE IS MUCH BETTER TO SWALLOW.

... are we talking about the same guy who closed one of THE BEST schools in the country (a charter school) because it was doing such a FANTASTIC JOB of Actually EDUCATING THE KIDS ?
Anyone else see the trends ?
That happened to the fabulously successful charter school in D.C. right after the present Administration took office.
GOOD LUCK FIREFIGHTERS !

For the commenters who speak from an ivory tower instead of reality I wish you well when the protection is not there. The mayor is very wrong on this matter and he wishes to make a name for himself through punishing others. Police and fire fighters have very special jobs that are not easy to do. Most are not paid well enough and disability is ever present and not covered very well for the families. What we need is more tax money to pay the city's bills. This answer is to stop outsourcing and return all those jobs back to the US.

So, Governor Patterson vetoed the bill in 2009. DeBlasio didn't become mayor until 2014. Did the firefighters raise hell from 2009 to 2014? The City Council has to pass a resolution to ask the state to pass a bill to change the pension sweetner, yet the firefighters pick the fight with the mayor? What? Are they scared of everybody who actually has the responsible to take action?

27 dollars a day is the break down off a new hires pay on disability, after taxes, and the social security offset since that equates to 44% of their salary after all factors. Get a calculator and tax 39k, break it down to its hourly rate, divide it by 2 (disability is half pay) and then figure what SS would be for a 21-35 year old (obviously very little if you follow what's happening in the feds for this younger generation) and you'll see the figure for yourself.

There is a big difference between someone getting disability and someone working for the city getting disability. I would stop by Sport's Authority during the day to say to a comic book friend. As an assistant manage he would point out all the police, fire, city disability guys shopping for things. What a scam. I'm in favor of all city workers getting minimum wage and no bennies like the working poor.

I find it hard to believe that they make only $54 a day that would be around $7 an hour. Yes I know that their schedule is not a regular type schedule but a "First Responder" making around $7 a hour, I thought most fireman were union what union worker gets only $7 an hour. Must be more to this story that I am missing or is missing